Dell isn't saying how much it's Inspiron Duo - the netbook with the spin-round screen - but Microsoft is.
The software giant's US-centric online shop has started taking orders for the Duo, which is there priced at $549 (£342) a pop.
Dell Inspiron Duo
That suggests a UK price of £400.
Whatever Dell charges over here, the …

COMMENTS

Tit el

Excellent!

From the Microsoft Signature site "Start using your PC right away

After installing Windows 7, we pre-loaded only the software you need and removed the trial versions and bloatware that you don't, so you don't have to spend hours setting up your PC—it's ready to run, right out of the box."

Bloatware indeed, ROFL.

Still, well played MS, perhaps OEM's will take a leaf out of their book.

Do a review!

I'm hoping you'll do a review of the Inspiron Duo soon. Coming from a mindset of usually buying netbooks for 100-200 GBP, I'd like to see if the swivel tablet mode actually justifies the price. What better way to find out than to have you guys buy it, review it and let me know?

Cool hybrid

Should I wait?

My wife is starting to have performance issues with her slightly older single core netbook and has also expressed considerable interest in the ipad, tablets and touchscreens in general. I had been considering the purchase of one of the dual core mini laptops/notebooks and pondered adding a cheap tablet for the novelty value.

I had eyed this up and thought it might be interesting, but is it worth hanging on a bit longer for??

Stay away from cheap tablets

Really, they're an effing waste of money. Get your wife an iPad or a decent notebook. I don't think this Dell thingy is anything decent at all. It's too heavy for a tablet, it has no decent OS for a tablet and it has too small a battery and screen for a decent notebook.

Windows Tablet...

Because it is not Longer MSFT commanding the UI design

Windows tablet failed because Microsoft wanted it to maintain all the Windows idiosyncrasies in order not to "confuse the user". That is no longer the case as MSFT has been relegated to a catch-up position in the UI design.

So while the underlying hardware will probably be Winhoze on most installs nothing prevents Dell from slapping a more modern visual shell on it or dual-booting it into an Android or running Android as a VM and flapping between Android and Windows as the screen flaps.

Errrm

"So while the underlying hardware will probably be Winhoze on most installs"

Don't even understand what that means. Winhoze is hardware? Maybe you meant "Windows compatible hardware"

"nothing prevents Dell from slapping a more modern visual shell on it"

I wasn't aware that MS had altered their OEM agreements in this regard. Are you able to provide any evidence of this?

"or dual-booting it into an Android"

Again, OEM agreements in the past have precluded doing this. See the BeOS antitrust trial for details. Are you sure this has changed?

"or running Android as a VM and flapping between Android and Windows as the screen flaps"

Why on earth would anyone want to do that? I can see a few use cases such as having quick and dirty access to the internet when in tablet mode but I really cant see the average Joe Sixpack being impressed by it. Monumentally confused, yes, but not impressed.

An innovative design

Not bad value I guess

£400 is a little pricey for a netbook, but it is a top of the range dual core atom and it does have a touch screen. So not bad all considering. That said, I'm not sure I see much reason to use the device as a tablet. It's a bit of a bloater.